Tag: Donte Moncrief

Texans release WR Donte Moncrief, make other roster moves ahead of training camp

The Houston Texans released receiver Donte Moncrief and made other roster moves ahead of their first day of training camp.

The Houston Texans made a series of roster transactions as they gear up for their first day of training camp.

The Texans released receiver Donte Moncrief, terminating his contract as a vested veteran.

Houston also placed tackle Geron Christian, running back Buddy Howell, and receiver Taywan Taylor on the COVID-19 reserve.

Across the league there were 15 players, including the Texans, who were placed on their team’s COVID-19 reserves. All but one of them were the result of a positive test.

Cornerback Cornell Armstrong, defensive end DeMarcus Walker, tight end Pharaoh Brown, and safety Lonnie Johnson were placed on the non-football injury list. However, they will count on the active list.

The Texans’ first practice is at 9:00 a.m. Central Time Wednesday at Houston Methodist Training Center.

Houston Texans 2021 player profile: WR Donte Moncrief

Donte Moncrief is on his seventh NFL team. Can the journeyman receiver make a big contribution to the Houston Texans?

When the Houston Texans begin their 2021 campaign inside NRG Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars in September, Donte Moncrief will be on his sixth team in three years. Despite becoming an NFL journeyman over the past few seasons, Houston could become Moncrief’s best destination to re-establish himself as a quality NFL receiver since his four-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts.

Moncrief spent a few weeks in November with the New England Patriots, no doubt familiarizing himself with then-director of player personnel, Nick Caserio, who is now the Texans’ general manager. Moncrief is another one of the sundry free agents on prove-it deals in Houston. The 27-year-old has a chance to show what he can bring to a Texans roster eager to build a winning culture.

Texans sign former Colts receiver Donte Moncrief to 1-year contract

The Houston Texans continue to add to their depth at receiver with the signing of former Indianapolis Colts receiver Donte Moncrief.

The Houston Texans have added a former division rival to their ever expanding receiving corps.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Texans have signed former Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Donte Moncrief to a one-year contract.

Moncrief spent last season with the New England Patriots, appearing in six games and catching one pass for 15 yards. The former Ole Miss product spent the first month of his tenure with the team, November, on the practice squad before being signed to the active roster in December.

In 2019, Moncrief played three games for the Carolina Panthers and five games with the Pittsburgh Steelers. All in all, he caught four passes for 18 yards.

The last full season Moncrief played was in 2018 with the Jaguars when he caught 48 passes for 668 yards and three touchdowns, starting in 14 of those 16 games played.

The Colts drafted Moncrief in the third round in 2014. In his four seasons with the Colts, Moncrief caught 152 passes for 1,875 yards and 18 touchdowns through 53 games, 27 of which he started.

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Damien Harris exited with injury in Week 14 vs. Rams

A pair of Patriots players exited Thursday night’s game with injuries.

As a rough night continued for the New England Patriots, two players suffered injuries. Running back Damien Harris and wide receiver Donte Moncrief were questionable to return. Harris sustained a back injury while Moncrief suffered a thigh injury.

When he left the game, Harris had 11 rushes for 50 yards while averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Moncrief had not recorded a catch.

The injury to Harris was particularly devastating, as he was able to balance the New England rushing attack for most of the night. It’s a role he has been taking on several times this season, and he has done so with great success.

As the Patriots continue to struggle throughout the course of the night, these two injuries just add to a difficult evening.

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Patriots Week 13 snap counts: N’Keal Harry is holding off Donte Moncrief

Here’s what to make of the New England Patriots’ snap counts from their win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13.

Donte Moncrief isn’t getting past Harry on the depth chart. Not yet. In the New England Patriots’ 45-0 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13, Harry played a fairly significant role, with 51% of the team’s snaps and, most important, a touchdown in the red zone.

It wasn’t enough to change my mind that Harry is trending the way of a draft bust. He’s still flirting with that label — but at least he did something to provide positivity. It was encouraging to see him do what the Patriots drafted him to do: play with physicality, show strong hands and attack a contested ball in the red zone. So it’s a good sign that he made something of his snaps, unlike in recent weeks — which could’ve justified the Patriots giving more work to Moncrief or even Gunner Olszewski, who had a receiving and a punt return touchdown.

Here’s more thoughts on New England’s snap counts from Week 13.

The Patriots make a flurry of roster moves in preparation for Week 13 vs. Chargers

The moves include the release of Isaiah Ford and the promotion of Donte Moncreif.

The New England Patriots are getting ready for their Week 13 matchup against the Los Angles Chargers with a sequence of roster moves.

With the NFL allowing standard elevations and COVID-19 substitutions, we can see players get promotions from the practice squad for game day, with a limit of two practice squad players. Any player promoted will revert back to the practice squad following the game on Sunday.

New England is also bringing a tight end off injured reserve to help Ryan Izzo. And the Patriots made an interesting decision in managing its receiver group. Here’s a look what the Patriots did ahead of Week 13. New England announced the transactions on Saturday night.

Patriots make a flurry of roster moves in preparation for Week 12 matchup vs. Cardinals

Transactions involving Donte Moncrief and Isaiah Wynn.

The New England Patriots have made their weekly roster transactions in preparation for their Week 12 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

New England can promote up to two practice squad players to the active roster for game day as either a standard elevation or COVID-19 replacement. Those player revert to the practice squad (without hitting waivers) after the game. The Patriots also tend to add their players to injured reserve on Saturday night, if necessary. That means the team occasionally signs players to either the 53-man roster or the practice squad.

So here’s a look at each roster move they announced on Saturday night. New England made seven different roster moves, with two practice squad promotions, one player coming off IR and four players going on IR.

How Bill Belichick picks between Patriots receivers for game day

Bill Belichick has a certain criteria for getting new receivers involved in the offense.

At the New England Patriots took on the Houston Texans on Sunday, head coach Bill Belichick made an interesting roster move. He started Donte Moncrief over Isaiah Ford at the wide receiver position.

Moncrief caught one pass for 15 yards on Sunday.

Moncrief was signed to the Patriots practice squad on November 4. That came one day after Patriots acquired Ford from the Dolphins.

From a trade standpoint, New England gave the Dolphins a conditional 2022 second-round pick for Ford. That is certainly not much of a risk on New England’s part.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Bill Belichick indicated that the Patriots will continue to work their receivers into the game plan, and make decisions based on who shows the most improvement.

“We’ll continue to work Isaiah (Ford), (Donte) Moncrief, all the receivers, and we’ll just go based on which player is the most ready, and most ready to help us that particular week,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday morning. “See who can earn the opportunities and take advantage of them in the game.”

With New England struggling for additional depth at the wide receiver position, there are certainly opportunities for playing time for Ford. When those opportunities come remains to be seen.

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RB Sony Michel, WR Isaiah Ford among Patriots’ inactives for Week 11

Donte Moncrief will be active over Isaiah Ford.

The New England Patriots appear deeply committed to running back Damien Harris. Even with Sony Michel returning from injured reserve on Saturday, the Patriots decided to make the former first-round pick inactive for Week 11.

It’s unclear where Michel is in his recovery, but the Patriots were confident enough in his health to activate him off injured reserve. Still, the Patriots scratched Michel from the roster with cornerback Myles Bryant, running back J.J. Taylor, defensive tackle Adam Butler, quarterback Brian Hoyer and receiver Isaiah Ford.

It’s interesting to see Ford miss another week after joining the team in a trade. New England, instead, is activating receiver Donte Moncrief from the practice squad. Considering the Patriots traded draft assets to the Dolphins for Ford, he should be playing over Moncrief. But the Patriots receiver situation has been full of twists and turns.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore will return to action after missing multiple weeks with a knee injury. Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley will also make his return. It will be interesting to see if he can get snaps back after the breakout performance of Terez Hall.

The Patriots kick off against the Texans in Week 11 at 1 p.m.

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Patriots sign ex-Jets WR Donte Moncrief to practice squad

The Patriots have signed Donte Moncrief to their practice squad.

Donte Moncrief has found a new home with the Jets’ most hated rival.

The former Jets wide receiver has been signed by the New England Patriots. Moncrief will join their practice squad. The move comes just days before the Jets and Pats are set to play on Monday Night Football.

The Jets signed Moncrief on Aug. 31. They released him on Sept. 5 and then re-signed him to the practice squad the following day. However, Moncrief was placed on the practice squad/injured list five days later. New York activated Moncrief off the injured list in October and then released him shortly after that.

Moncrief’s career began in Indianapolis when he was a third-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2014. He was in Indianapolis for four years before having a one-year stint in Jacksonville in 2018. In 2019, Moncrief split time with Pittsburgh and Carolina.

For Moncrief’s career, he has 204 catches for 2,561 yards and 21 touchdowns.